Family
by Pandora151
Summary: Ever since Young Link arrived in Smash Mansion, Link has always been there for him. Now it's time for Young Link to do the same for his older self.


**A/N:**...Surprise! I'm making a brief and triumphant return to this fandom just to post this one little snippet. 90% of this was written after I wrote The Clash with the intentions of creating a proper sequel with more...stuff, I guess. Since I've moved on to writing for a different fandom, I decided that this little snippet deserved to see the light of day, so I gave it a proper ending and here we are. This is a sort-of sequel to The Clash, but you can probably get away with not reading that in order to read this.

Enjoy! :)

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He opened the door of the balcony and walked into the cool night, taking a deep breath as the fresh air met him. The full moon gleamed brightly in the distance, brightening the sky very slightly. Young Link breathed deeply; he always enjoyed the feeling of the cool night because it freed him. Throughout his life, he had been doing things constantly for others during the day, but he had the night to himself. He spent many nights during his journey sleeping under the stars. He nearly forgot about Link, sitting sullenly in a chair a few feet away. "So," the older Link finally began, "did Zelda send you?"

Young Link felt himself jump slightly in surprise, and he turned. Link stared at him for a few seconds before rising from his chair and walking towards him. "No, actually," Young Link responded. Link simply hummed and turned to look at the moon, his eyes fogging over as he leaned on the railing of the balcony. Link's expression terrified him; he was always relatively an upbeat person and Young Link found himself consistently relying on him. But, now...

Link continued staring at the moon, as though he was challenging it. Young Link shuddered; he can feel a sort of sadness coming from his older self. "Is everything alright?" he finally asked hoarsely.

Blinking, Link turned towards him briefly. For a moment, he seemed to be debating with himself about something, but Young Link did not comment. Finally, he glanced again at the moon and shuddered. "There are times when people look at you with so much _hope_ and..." He paused and chuckled darkly. "But that's what being the hero means, doesn't it?"

Link stared at Young Link for so long that he was worried that the older hero would somehow read his mind or soul. His gaze was steady, but perceptive. "I suppose," Young Link replied finally, turning on his feet slowly to look up at the moon. He did not know what else to say. Link frowned and continued gazing at the moon, tightening his grip on the railing. Young Link noticed his white knuckles, but did not say anything. "Link," Young Link finally said, forcing to the older hero to tear his gaze away from the moon.

"We talked about this before," Young Link said slowly, "so you can talk to me." Link turned towards him suddenly, but he didn't say anything. He looked as though he didn't exactly know what to say.

"We should go inside now," Young Link declared forcefully, gripping his older self's hand as he led him through the balcony door into the room.

Before they entered, Link turned around slowly to face the moon. "How about that," he whispered, as though the moon could actually hear him, "I win."

Young Link slid the balcony door closed before bringing Link to a chair. They sat down across from each other, identical blue eyes fixed on each other, one sparkling with regret and the other with confusion. "Tell me," Young Link murmured after a few moments of silence. "I'm you and I know you best. I will understand better than anyone else. Just tell me."

Link sighed, glanced at the moon, and then looked again at Young Link. He chuckled. "I'm a bit of a hypocrite, I suppose," he began, but Young Link only looked confused. "I wanted to know what happened to you before, but when you ask me the same thing, I really don't want you to know. But then I realize you told me, so it's not really fair."

"So that's why you _should_ tell me, Link," Young Link insisted. The older Link closed his eyes for a moment, straightened in his chair, and looked directly into Young Link's eyes. He then said a word, a single word that made Young Link's heart drop to his stomach and made his blood run cold.

"Navi."

Young Link swallowed the lump in his throat, waiting anxiously for Link to say more. When he didn't elaborate, Young Link forced himself to speak. "What about her? Did you find her?"

Link smiled sorrowfully. "I tried, I tried _so_ hard. I spent years wandering the forest, just searching for the one person who truly understood what I went through during my journey. But I never found her," he admitted.

"Then why are you telling me this?" Young Link asked, feeling his blood turn to ice in his veins.

"Because I was searching for her, about a year after Zelda sent me back in time. I wandered into the Lost Woods, thinking I knew my way around well enough," Link answered. He chuckled darkly. "I was so wrong. So, so wrong," he muttered.

"Why?" Young Link asked, frowning slightly. "What happened?"

Link hesitated. "No one knows about this, Link," he said finally. "Not even Zelda. I would really like it to stay that way, okay?"

Young Link nodded.

Link took a deep breath and then told him everything. He talked about Termina, Majora's Mask, the Skull Kid, the Three Days. He spoke of the number of times he _failed_ , the number of times he would look up at the sky to see the moon right above him, grinning maliciously. And he spoke of the amount of pain and loss he saw, and ultimately never being able to find Navi.

"I left the Fierce Deity Mask behind in Termina," Link said. "The next day, I was invited to Smash Mansion. I left everything behind because I couldn't stand the thought of failing Hyrule the way I failed Termina."

Young Link was speechless. What Link went through was _terrible_. He did not understand how his older self managed to be so positive and upbeat most of the time.

"But you saved Termina in the end, Link," Young Link said finally. "Hyrule, too. That's something we both have in common."

"I know, but—"

"But nothing," Young Link interrupted. "What happened in Termina sounds absolutely awful and terrifying, but not only did you survive it, but you also defeated Majora _and_ saved the people of Termina. You didn't fail Termina."

Link stared at him for a long moment. His eyes were bright and shining with some sort of emotion that Young Link didn't completely understand. For the first time, Young Link realized that whatever happened to Link after Zelda sent him back in time was not as easy and simple as he thought. In some ways, it was worse than what happened to Young Link.

"I…" Link began, then he trailed off, slumping and looking down at his hands. "Thank you, Link," he said. "I think I needed that."

Young Link smiled in response. "You helped me, Link," he replied. "The least I could do is the same for you. I'm you, remember?"

Link chuckled again. "Yes, I do remember that," he said, "though usually I'm the one reminding _you_." He stood and stretched, closing his eyes for a moment. "Let's go eat dinner, kid," he said with a grin. "With any luck, Zelda saved some of the good food for us, and not the disgusting stuff that Marth has been trying to make recently."

Young Link jumped to his feet. "I'll tell him you said that," he said, then raced out of the room, followed quickly by older self. He barely heard Link shouting at him to not say anything to Marth, but Young Link gleefully ignored that and sprinted down the staircase.

Young Link laughed as he ran, letting his joy overwhelm him and take away all of his anxiety. Smash Mansion was more of a home than he ever expected it to be, and for the first time in his life, he had a family.


End file.
